The German Foreign Ministry has confirmed that a German family of five taken hostage in eastern Yemen five days ago has been freed. Retired senior diplomat Juergen Chrobog, his wife and three sons were freed by the kidnappers on Saturday, the ministry said. The official Yemeni news agency Saba has also confirmed the release, saying the family was freed on Saturday afternoon along with three Yemeni drivers.Chrobog, 65, and his family were abducted five days ago from a restaurant on the road between the port city of Aden and Shabwa, which is 480km east of the capital Sanaa. Their release followed mediation efforts by a team made up of tribal chiefs and government representatives who negotiated with the hostage-takers. Tribal chief Shaikh al-Ahmar Ali al-Aswad was said by tribal sources to have been holding the Germans as bargaining chips for the release of the five brothers he says were wrongly imprisoned by Yemeni authorities. It was not known if the conditions for the release of the hostages were fulfilled.